NCAA gives Miami its sanctions

'Canes are bowl eligible; both football and men's hoops lose scholarships

Associated Press

Published 11:38 pm, Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Photo: Wilfredo Lee

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Miami head coach Al Golden, rear, watches a drill during team practice, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, in Coral Gables, Fla. Miami's football team will lose nine scholarships and the men's basketball team will lose three, as part of the penalties the school was handed Tuesday by the NCAA as the Nevin Shapiro scandal presumably drew to a close. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) ORG XMIT: FLWL102 less

Miami head coach Al Golden, rear, watches a drill during team practice, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, in Coral Gables, Fla. Miami's football team will lose nine scholarships and the men's basketball team will lose ... more

Photo: Wilfredo Lee

NCAA gives Miami its sanctions

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Coral Gables, Fla.

When the NCAA's long-awaited decision arrived Tuesday morning, Miami athletic director Blake James realized it was what he expected all along.

"Fair," James said. "But significant."

And final. The Miami-NCAA saga is over.

More than 2½ years after former booster and convicted felon Nevin Shapiro contacted the NCAA from prison and began detailing his role in rampant rule-breaking by those involved with Miami's football and men's basketball programs, the Hurricanes got their final penalties. The most notable sanctions are the nine lost football scholarships over three years and one lost basketball scholarship in each of the next three seasons.

A three-year period of probation, which started Tuesday, and some recruiting restrictions are also part of the penance.

But for the first time since 2010, Miami's football team — currently undefeated and ranked No. 7 nationally — will be heading to a bowl game.

Miami said in February that it would appeal any sanction beyond what it had already self-imposed. Over time, that stance softened, and the Hurricanes are accepting what the NCAA handed down.

No appeal is coming, at least not by the Hurricanes.

None is coming from Missouri basketball coach Frank Haith, either. Haith will miss the first five games of Missouri's upcoming season because of what the NCAA said his role was in the Shapiro scandal, and said Tuesday that "it's time for closure."

Three former Miami assistant coaches got two-year show-cause bans, including Clint Hurtt, who's part of the football staff at Louisville.

The sheer size of the Miami investigation was unlike almost any other, with 18 general allegations of misconduct with 79 issues within those allegations, along with 118 interviews of 81 individuals by the NCAA's count. The committee wanted to complete its work within eight weeks; it took more than 18 weeks between the end of the Miami hearing and the release of Tuesday's decision, mainly because of the staggering amount of material that needed review.

The NCAA said Miami lacked "institutional control" when it came to monitoring Shapiro, a charge the school was hoping to avoid. The NCAA also said many of Miami's violations were undetected by the university over a 10-year period.

But since this saga started, Miami has tried to make sweeping changes in the way it handles its compliance practices and that along with the school's decision to self-impose significant sanctions like sitting out three postseason football games and enacting recruiting restrictions was clearly looked upon favorably by the committee.